:: number 2 ::

i got a little feeling of what it must be like to win an oscar or the like yesterday when i discovered that my advent calendar kit was voted as number 2 in BT lifestyle's best advent calendars. 

we will just sidle past the question of who actually goes on the BT lifestyle website to see it shall we?

actually i think plenty of people surprisingly have as i have been printing these kits ad infinitum as alice of backstitch will testify.

with regular weekly emails of "help, need more red Klona!"

what makes me particularly excited more than anything is the thought of so many people a week on Sunday hanging their advent calendars, filling with them with their choice of treats until xmas eve.

i thought i had printed my last panels last week. i even told alice so. but no, with just 8 days to go until the start of advent orders are still coming in fast and furious.

and panic upon panic...alice has run out of klona crimson! i've run her dry!

thankfully i have managed to secure another source who have guaranteed me delivery tomorrow...printing on sunday...mailing on monday...happy people making kits on tuesday.

i may have ordered just enough if anyone else still want one...shout now because this really is the final order.

and if you don't fancy making one up i do have one available to buy ready made. i guess i felt i was missing out on the sewing up fun and wanted to join in. anyway it's available here and the kits are available here.

stocking up...

 It's all very well at this time of year focussing on gift buying and making that we all need to do, but are you remembering to look after Number 1 and making sure you have plenty of supplies to keep you occupied over the festive break??

First up, very exciting news, you can pop along to the imminently opening bricks and mortar The Village Haberdashery this weekend. How exciting is that?! From these sneak peak photos it looks delicious! I used to live at number 15...my hubs is quite relieved we are now over 200 miles away!

If you can't get down there Annie's online shop is still open for ordering all her usual scrummy stock including the fabulous new line Splendour. I quite fancy a bit of that.

Also out and about with new things to entice you for Christmas crafting is Aurifil threads at M is for Make. I am dying to try these wonder threads out that everyone is raving on about. Also newly in at HQ M is for Make is the new line from Birch Fabrics, Camp Modern. I just love the colourways of this collection and the designs. It shouts winter wonderland to me and if you haven't used these organic fabrics before, believe me you will love them. They are so crisp and a pleasure to sew with.

 Fancy a little dress making this holidays? Alice at Backstitch has a wonderful array of patterns newly in, including the fabulous Washi Dress which is at the top of my list. I'm also very keen to make the Briar Sweater and T Shirt. I think it will be one of those "have to have for every day of the week" tops. Alice has also just got in a couple of the new By Hand London patterns. The Elizalex dress looks perfect if you need to quickly rustle up a special little something. 

The latest collection in at Seamstar is Aneela Hoey's cuter than cute Sew Stitchy. Absolutely perfect for sewing up a few last minute forgotten gifts. Don't forget to check out  Courtney's Christmas Shop for other wonderful Christmassy fabrics and trimmings to dress your gifts.

giveaway result and an overview...

I left you with a giveaway last week while I disappeared off to Harrogate for a few days for the Country Living Fair - more on that in a mo.

So were you lucky? Have you won your choice of Mimosa bundle?

Drum roll please...

 The lucky winner is Irene Garcia Diaz! (email me your address and your choice of Mimosa!)

If you weren't lucky enough to win a bundle, you can always go here and treat yourself to some anyway. You really will want to give it a try.

So Country Living Fair...how did it go?

It all started last Wednesday with my good friend Mr D helping me set up. His help was invaluable. The less said about Mr L having work commitments taking him to London, despite having it in his diary for months, the better.

Pretty swiftly we had it looking like this. All set and ready for the onslaught of predicted visitors.

Four effortful, exhausting days later and I rewarded myself with this...

quite honestly it wasn't really a question of reward...I wasn't capable of much else last night!

On balance I had a fantastic few days. I met up with a lot of buddies that I only see at fairs - Catherine and her lovely Mum were a couple of stands in one direction, Charlotte was a couple of stands the other way and Manda was diagonally opposite, although to be honest why the organisers put a stand in the way to block our immediate view I have no idea. We will have to have words. Rachelle and Tracy were a little far away for too many chats (more words needed) but it was definitely a highlight to finally meet this fab pair. Of course meeting up with the massive support network of the Soupers in person was fantastic too. As for all you wonderful peeps that were visiting and came by to say hi, bringing me cups of water, tea, loo breaks or just to introduce yourselves, I really appreciated it so thank you.

As for the fair itself as a business success? The jury is out as to whether it is an experience I will repeat. It is a very stressful time of year with busy online sales and keeping up with stockist top ups, not to mention remembering to say hi and feed my children. Getting ready for CL added to the stress at this time and I'm not convinced that the end result justified the chaos we have lived in over the last few weeks and indeed months.

Having said that, I'm very keen to look into Glasgow for next year...just shoot me now!

Giveaway...!

 This week's kind sponsor giveaway is from the lovely Alice of Backstitch. 

The fabric on offer is a bundle of 6 Mimosa Linen/Cotton blends in an array of beautiful colours.
Mimosa is a great value linen too. At just £10.50/m for a wider width of 136cm.

It is a lovely soft fabric with a fairly open weave and works really well for all manner of projects, from quilting to general craft to dress-making with it's lovely soft drape.

 The image above is a beautiful quilt Alice made. The jewelled colours are stunning and I bet the quilt is so cosy.

 Alice sent me a bundle of these colours above to have a play with and whilst I am itching to make a quilt myself out of the Mimosa, it just ain't happening this week!

Instead I made this little pinnie for the fair this week.

(The pattern is an adaptation from Aunty Cookie's pattern available here.) I teamed it with some of my Scruffy Daisy in Coral which matched perfectly.

I found the fabric to be perfect for this project. Being so soft, it's going to be dead comfy to wear.

If you would like the chance to get your hands on a bundle for free, Alice is offering one lucky UK/European reader the chance to win a bundle of 6 fabrics.

Head here to see which you would choose and come back and tell us which one!
And for a further 2 comments come back and tell me you follow Alice's blog and also follow her on Twitter. So 3 chances to win this!

The giveaway will be open until this time next week - Tuesday 4 December - which will give you all something to do while I'm here from tomorrow, which is set up day,  until Sunday. If you are in the vicinity I really hope you will manage to come and please do pop by Stand C60 to see all my creations and say hi. It would be so nice to see you!

ps please PLEASE make sure you leave an email address for me to contact you if you are a No Reply blogger.

a bundle or 2...

How do you do your fabric shopping?

Are you an efficient shopper and know exactly what you want and go straight for it?

Do you trawl aimlessly through various sections? ...by designer, by colour, by manufacturer, by design?

Or do you hope your clever online fabric stores cleverly puts bundles together for you to purchase easily and without fuss?

Alice of Backstitch has some wonderful bundles in store and her latest 'cocktail bundles' put a new slant on Happy Hour.

These are just 4 of my favourite bundles that Alice has put together, combining fabrics in a way I would never see. You don't have to be in love with every fabric individually in a bundle, which is always my problem when choosing fabrics, but know that the combination works a treat.

Go check out these cocktails and all the other tasty treats in store and treat yourself to an easier way of shopping.

Oh and don't forget to come back and let me know what you have chosen...I'd love to know ;-)

What's new...from my UK sponsors...

As well as each of my sponsors providing you with the fantastic new ranges of Bella by Lotta Jansdotter and Bloomsbury Gardens by Liberty Lifestyle amongst others, they all have their own individual taste and picks of what is new out there.Lucky us to have so many wonderful fabric lines hand picked for us.

Here is a review of some of my favourites available from each of them.

First up Kate from M is for Make brings us Patty Young's terrific Running Stitch fabrics. They are so zesty and zingy and will liven up any project. I'm planning on using some as the coordinating fabrics in my pencil rolls, but in the meantime have cut a little scrap for some cards. I think I will be using these in cards a lot in the future.

I don't know how long this fabric will be available in Kate's store, so you had best head over here now to stock up.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Umbrella Prints fabrics. I fell in love with their hand screen printed designs and now just as head over heels with their organic quilting collections. 

The latest collection Elephants Love Water (such a clever title!) by the talented Amy and Carly is now available at The Village Haberdashery. Annie should be praised to the heavens for being so discerning as to step out of the box and choose something a little different. It isn't the cheapest choose, being £7/fat quarter, but being cut from a 150cm width bolt it ends up not being as pricey as you think.

Live a little...and some of these to your stash and you'll be thanking me big time. Go right here to grab a little...or a lot...

Next up Petites Odile the new chic and sophisticated collection from French General chosen by Alice at Backstitch. The pretty design is beautifully made in muted colours which would be a class act in any project as well as being perfect for dressmaking. I particularly love Claudine in Oyster. 

Head here if you fancy stocking up on something a little classy to your stash.

Last but by no means least something a little quirky. I'm not a huge fan of novelty prints but these Ric Rac Rabbits are so fun! Courtney from Seamstar always finds something fun and this is no exception. I used Bunny Friends in Burnt Orange on Teal (more turquoise) in my pencil rolls and so pleased with the result. It teams perfectly with Summersville Brushstrokes in Orange too.

If quirky fun is your thing go here to grab some. There are several great designs in various colours. You'll be spoilt for choice!

If like me you are lucky enough to be in sunnier climes enjoying a bit of R & R, what better than to be enjoying a little happier hour ordering some of these lovelies in the happy knowledge that a few pretty parcels will be waiting for your return.

Oh for the love of our modern world!

What are the chances of this??

What are the chances of Number 1 coming up on the Random Number Generator??

Ok all you smartypants out there, as a Maths teacher I am well aware that every number has an equal chance of occurring, but really, Number 1?

I am delighted to announce Deb as the winner. I am delighted because it saves me having to count, recount, and recount again through the comments to get the right one. I am also delighted as Deb is currently celebrating (?) Ramadan and needs something to keep her mind off those long hours of fasting. Look forward to seeing your inspired makes Deb

Thank you all once again new followers and old for entering and for Alice for the extremely generous giveaway.

Apologies once more to all you overseas folk that weren't able to enter this time, but look out for next week's giveaway. It's a real goodie...and open to one and all...that's all I'm saying...for now...

An introduction and a giveaway...

I would like to introduce you to another of my fab new sponsors.

Backstitch is another great British online fabric store born out of an enthusiasm for fabric and sewing. Backstitch is run by Alice who brings us a wonderful selection of the best from around the world.

One of the latest collections to hit Alice's virtual shelves is Cloud 9's wonderful Simpatico. I am chomping at the bit to get hold of this. But a little more about this later...

As well as Alice stocking a sought after range of modern designers, she also stocks a fantastic collection of solids in the form of Klona (yes, that's right, Klona not Kona) cottons and also a Linen/Cotton blend range at a very reasonable £10.50/m

Alice has a huge amount of fabulous sewing patterns on offer, ranging from Beginner to Advanced. I've been eyeing up The Schoolhouse Tunic for some time but still not sure if my rudimentary dress-making skills can be classified as "Advanced Beginner"...I'm thinking not. 

And if they could be classified as "Intermediate" and if I had someone to sew them for, I would so be buying and making this.

Keep an eye out at Backstitch, as Alice is always adding to her collection on offer. Very soon we'll be seeing the arrival of Riley Blake Chevrons, Lotta Jansdotter Bella, along with a selection of 24 of Liberty Lifestyle fabrics.

 To the giveaway...

You have probably already realised that the fantastically generous giveaway involves Simpatico. Alice is offering the chance to win a full fat quarter bundle of all 12 designs. I'm palpitating at the thought of that...and deeply saddened that I can't actually enter. Well, it wouldn't be right, would it?

So how can you win?...

I would ask you to guess which design in which colour-way I am most hankering after, but that wouldn't be too challenging would it? So let's stick to making it straight-forward...

1 entry for telling me your favourite design and colour-way and what you would do with the bundle if you won...

another entry for following my blog before or now...

another entry for following Alice's blog before or now...

another entry for signing up to Backstitch's Newsletter before or now...

a final entry for tweeting (you need to come back here and tell me!)

You have until next Weds July 26 2012...good luck!

(I am really sorry that this giveaway is limited to UK and Europe only...but don't worry there'll be something very soon for all you further overseas stalwarts)

I have a new love...I'm a bit fickle like that.

Actually to be fair, I've had a crush on an orange & blue combo for a while now and even have a Pinterest board dedicated to it.

 But my love affair with it has been taken to a whole new level thanks to some sample fabrics I have recently been working with.

Until this week I have loved it from afar, but now seeing the Lotta fabrics in the flesh and then teemed with some well matched Klona fabrics, I just gasp every time I see it.

It goes without saying that I had to try out my own orange/blue combo item and it also goes without saying that it's not helping dilute my new addiction with it.

Whilst I know (hope) that I'll still have eyes for my grey/mustard love, I am enjoying this gorgeous zingy summery combo and will be featuring it a great deal more in the coming weeks.

If you'd like to get your hands on a piece of zingy magic, this pouch is right here...

It's downright horrible here today and trust me, I have unfortunately experienced it at first hand. Today was the day we picked to take Sam and 7 friends to Alton Towers as a post exam/late birthday party treat.

I actually hate Theme Parks at the best of times. I'm not good with crowds, queues or heights and if you throw cold rain into the equation, you can imagine quite how my mood was today.

And by this time tomorrow I'll be tearing my hair out as they are all staying for a sleepover!

So this seemed a perfect day to distract myself and look at some loveliness.

This week I have bought the following fabric stashes, most of them to use with my screen printing and also I have several quilt orders and my thoughts are heading to designs with lots of plains - something new for me.

This first rather big pile comes from the range of Klona plains that Alice from Backstitch is stocking. The range of colours is incredible and at £5.50/metre, it's fantastic value too. A lot of these are going to be used for screen printing, so I'm rather excited about experimenting with them.

Remember the samples of these I received? Whilst I was on an ordering binge, I added these to the list. They are beautiful. The colours are obviously perfect and they are a lovely linen/cotton blend. Head here if you fancy trying some out for yourself.

I always need spots. I haven't bought these Oliver & S City Weekend dots before, but they will be perfect for Gerry and Steve. I wasn't totally sure when I ordered them that the spottage wasn't a tad small, but I gambled on them being nice and they are. They are perfect. Whilst I was at The Eternal Maker I bought the top one, Basic Grey Graph Dots. You know every now and then you are drawn to a simple fabric and when it comes it exceeds all expectations? That's the case with this one. Having satisfactorily made these for a friend, this Basic Grey is lined up to be made into a pair for our bed. Then I definitely need to order more for one of the quilts on order too. I've a feeling this is going to fast become a firm favourite.

After all this, I've almost forgotten about the bad part of the day.

Hopefully by tomorrow all sleepover madness will be forgotten too.

Spring is in the air.

Isn't it?

Have you noticed the days getting longer?

I just love it when it starts to stay light in the evenings for longer. We've had our fill of cosying up in the dark winter nights and yes, there is definitely something magical about that, but compared to the feeling of awakening in the spring, winter just doesn't cut it.

And with the departure of winter, it's farewell to the woollens and out with the fresh spring fabrics. The springlike days make me look at fabrics differently and consequently this week's purchases from M is for Make look like this.

I actually think I have found a new contender for my All Time Top 10 Favourite Fabrics EVER with this latest delivery. This top fabric is Kaffe Fassett's design for Liberty Art fabric and is just divine. The colours are so crisp and clear, with the cold blue on stark white, being a winner through spring and way into summer. I'm thinking, as well as using for summertime accessories, I am hoping Ruby feels as passionate about it as I do and will allow me to make a skirt or summer dress, or hopefully both - particularly as I've just ordered this book from Kate too.

More springlike fabrics in the delivery were these gorgeous latest prints from Cloud 9. Again, striking fresh blues with crisp white. I love this latest collection. Michelle is such a talented designer and her prints just do it for me every time. I can not wait for her Cut Out & Keep Collection that she has done with Heather Moore of Skinny Laminx, to come out. Not long now as it's due out in April.

To tie all these together I am in need of some fresh plain cottons. Backstitch are stocking the new range of incredibly affordable Klona cottons. Not being sure of the colours I needed I opted for the fantastically valued Swatch Card, which is going to be invaluable for matching up to fabrics.

So, I'm all set for spring now...are you?